31 Days of Horror 2016: When comes the horror remake

It’s in the air, isn’t it? The horror of Halloween. The last few weeks have seen Biff Bam Pop spreading out usual horrific cheer with our 31 Days of Horror. Much of it has been celebrating our favorite movies and tv shows. Here and now, though, is where we’ll look ahead a little bit, to what could be horrific for all the wrong reasons.

The horror remake.

Let’s be honest, horror remakes are obviously a mixed bag. There are so many that happen, it’s anybody’s guess as to what flick will get the remake treatment. Does anyone even remember that back on June 6th, 2006 there was an Omen remake release (think about it for a second – 06/06/06)? Not really, right? And even if the Evil Dead remake was actually pretty decently and full of disturbing imagery, it didn’t make nearly the same impact that the original trilogy from Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi made. And honestly, the less said about the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street remakes, the better.

That doesn’t mean they’ve all been failures, mind you. I’m a big fan of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead, which I’ve always felt built off the original George Romero classic, but managed to become its own thing. I also didn’t mind the Fright Night remake from a few years ago with David Tennant, Colin Ferrel and the late Anton Yelchin, though it still doesn’t hold a candle to the 1985 original.

With that in mind, here’s my thoughts on some upcoming remakes that are looking to haunt theaters and your dreams in the near future – will any of them have what it takes?

A Nightmare on Elm Street – yes, plans are to go back to well one more time. The previous reboot from 2010 didn’t set their box office on fire, but I don’t know what the solution would be to reinvigorate the franchise. The only real suggestion I think that would work would be to bring Robert Englund back, as he really is the one, true Freddy Kruger.

Friday the 13th – although I enjoyed the 2009 reboot that took elements from the first three franchise films, like A Nightmare on Elm Street, it wasn’t able to get enough momentum going to merit a sequel immediately. There are plans for a new film, with a release date set for Friday, October 17th, 2017.

Halloween – Rob Zombie made two Halloween films that poleaxed moviegoers. The first, released in 2007 and which gave the character of Michael Myers backstory to explain his murderous ways, I enjoyed quite a bit, but the 2009 follow-up was a complete disaster (and I say this as a die-hard Rob Zombie fan). For the next film, which doesn’t have a release date as of yet but will likely be set in the original series timeline, original director John Carpenter is taking on an executive producer role, with hopes of making the scariest offering in the franchise yet.

It – the original adaptation of Stephen King’s classic 1986 novel about a group of kids who do battle with a demonic clown named Pennywise was actually a tv mini-series. This new version will actually consist of two films, the first of which will hit theaters in September 2017. Expectations are high for this one, and Bill Skaarsgard is going to have a tough time living up to Tim Curry’s classic interpretation of Pennywise, but I’m optimistic these films were be solid.

Those are just a few we have to look forward to in the next few years. Are there any horror films you think rate worthy of a remake? Tell us in the comments below.

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About Andy Burns

Andy Burns is the Interactive Content Editor for SiriusXM Canada, and has been the Editor-In-Chief of the pop culture website Biff Bam Pop! since its inception in 2008. He is also a Staff Writer for Rue Morgue Magazine.
Andy's book, Wrapped In Plastic: Twin Peaks, was published in 2015 by ECW Press. His next book, on Stephen King's The Stand, will be published by Cemetery Dance in 2018.